Floodplain group demands basin toxin details

The Australian Floodplain Association says the Queensland Government needs to release more information about toxins which could reach outback Lake Eyre.

The Environment Protection Agency last week confirmed two waterways north-west of Mount Isa were contaminated with heavy metals because of a mine overflow into floodwaters.

Terry Korn from the floodplain association says the spill was in the upper reaches of the Georgina River system, and there is the potential for floodwaters heading to Lake Eyre in South Australia to also be contaminated.

"It is possible - history shows that once a system is contaminated and you get pulses of high flows through the system then that toxic heavy metal can spread right throughout the system over time, so it's important from our viewpoint and from cattle growers that these spills certainly don't occur again," he said.